


Sound and Darkness- A Songxiao Fanfiction

by Millennium_Lotus



Category: MDZS, Mo Dao Zu Shi, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation
Genre: Angst, Fanfiction, Fluff, M/M, Pain, songxiao - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-02 06:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21157373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Millennium_Lotus/pseuds/Millennium_Lotus
Summary: He looked at Xiao Xingchen and leaned in, until his lips were close to the other cultivator’s. It was quiet and still for a while until Song Lan swiftly twisted away and flipped himself up on the roof; torn apart from within.***Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan and A-Qing are on their way to the mountains to finally begin their new sect. Yet, with Xiao Xingchen still blind, Song Lan still mute, it takes Xue Yang to return for them to finally, either lose each other further or come closer than ever before.***This is a fanfiction. All credit goes to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, the author of MDZS.





	1. Villager's Tales

**Author's Note:**

> This has angst and may include gruesome descriptions, as well as some horror elements. Please do not read if you are sensitive to that type of content. Also, this fanfiction is a slow-burn so have fun! Otherwise, please enjoy!

1\. The market was vibrant with people and stalls, heaving with fresh fruit and newly made accessories. A-Qing was already gone and bashing boys on the head with her bamboo stick while Xiao Xingchen looked concerned, as did Song Lan who stood beside him. They could both hear what was being said further into the market.

“It’s true, it’s true!” A villager from afar yelled.

Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan stilled. The man continued, “I woke up to the sound of wood hitting the ground. It was so sudden and strange. So I got out of bed, and my house, to check what was going on. Obviously, it was at the brink of dawn and no one should be out. But when I saw what it was,” the man paused; the crowd murmured. The villager had an excited gleam. “But when I saw what she was: a girl with white eyes, not even a sign of a pupil, I couldn’t even yell out for help from fear. She looked like a ghost of some sort!”

The women and men called out for the man to continue quickly. The storyteller obliged. “Then, I was surprised by two men who came after the girl. One was blind and forever bleeding! The other had black veins crawled up on his neck and he did not say a whisper. It was then that I hid. The blind man, called her back and she left. Only the one with black veins remained. He looked around, and when I was about to make my move to run back into my home, he hooked those inhuman black eyes right onto me. I couldn’t move! It was as if, he was telling me that nothing could get past him. And let me tell you, that if you were there that morning instead of me, you wouldn’t want to try.”

A child cried out, “What did you do next?! What next?!”

The villager smiled, “I ran.” He looked around the crowd. “I ran straight through my door and bolted it shut. And stayed home for one day and one night, until I bravely came to this village to warn you all!” Adults and children gasped and broke out with horror and gratitude.

Xiao Xingchen glanced in the direction he could hear A-Qing howling with laughter. She was happily throwing rocks at a chicken coop with the other children. He turned to his friend beside him, “Song Zichen.”

Song Zichen turned towards him.

Xiao Xingchen, “That man spreading that story…if it gets to A-Qing, and if she remains beside us… We cannot-,” Xiao Xingchen could not say anymore and moved swiftly through the crowds, hearing his way towards the storyteller’s voice, still bellowing out dramatics.

Song Lan moved with his friend through the masses of people. The villager didn’t see the pair coming. One clad in black, with the other in white, frosting the dirt beneath his heels with ice. As the amount of people grew denser, the two cultivators made many gasp or frantically move out of their way. The man they were heading towards finally found the source of the commotion and turned looking straight at them.

He choked on his words and his face flushed pale. The demeanour he had on before of a man who faced death was clearly a lie, as he cowardly curled up on himself. When the two cultivators stood before him, even without his eyes Xiao Xingchen looked livid, something Song Lan did not often see or wish to.

The people around them began to whisper, and the villager straightened up and began to call out, “It’s them! It’s them! One blind, one mute!” The man looked behind them, “And where is the girl?!”

Xiao Xingchen, “That is not for your knowing.”

The villager, “Yet, you are still the two I saw that frightful morning!”

Xiao Xingchen, “We did nothing. We simply arrived here, on our way to the mountains to find our new sect, and it was quite early in the morning. I told A-Qing to be quiet, and we are sorry for disturbing your rest.”

The man was frantic. He cast a wicked look at Song Lan. If Xiao Xingchen could still see, that look would have been the last the storyteller ever gave again. “A-Qing, huh?” The man pointed his fat finger at Song Lan. “If so, who is that then? That black veined creature who has eyes so cold, it could freeze anyone on the spot!”

The villager suddenly gripped Song Lan’s collar, tugging down for everyone to see the black faint veins riding his neck. “A monster! A monster!” Song Zichen’s pupils dilated as the man’s hand, with grimy slick nails and sweaty fingerprints, pressed deep on his skin.

Xiao Xingchen placed a strong hand on the man’s arm, shoving it out his grip on Song Lan. “Do not touch him.”

“Why not?” The villager shouted.

“He does not like contact with strangers.” Xiao Xingchen spoke sternly but composed making the villager look incredibly timid. Song Zichen placed a hand on Xiao Xingchen’s shoulder. He carefully traced a few lines on Xiao Xingchen’s arm, ‘_Let us go_’.

The white robed cultivator nodded. “Sorry for disrupting your event. Please refrain from speaking anymore about your morning and tell of other tales.”

The man’s stared defiantly, but the sheen of sweat on his forehead said otherwise. “Why should I listen to you?!”

Xiao Xingchen, “It would be better if you did not cause us any other problems.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“That would not make a difference. Even a blind man could see your fear.”

And with that, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen moved away from the fuming storyteller and the fooled crowd, towards where A-Qing still giggled.


	2. A Disgusting Encounter

A-Qing was unhappy to be taken so abruptly from the new friends she had made.

“Daozhang! Daozhang! Can’t we stay for a little longer?”

Xiao Xingchen smiled down at the girl, “It is getting late. The clouds have already darkened and there will be a storm tonight. It’s better to find an inn before the rain pours.”

The trio began to walk farther out from the market.

Moments passed in silence until A-Qing groaned, “How much longer do we have to walk?”

Indeed, most stalls and shops were closing at this time and A-Qing seemed to have used most of her energy on throwing rocks, so Song Lan placed his finger on Xiao Xingchen’s arm and wrote, _‘There is a place to eat nearby’._

“Perfect, Song Lan.” Xiao Xingchen’s face cleared of strain, the more they moved away from the busy streets. He thought of the man’s voice, and of how he spoke of his friend. _A monster, a creature._ Song Lan. His Song Lan. Xiao Xingchen already lost him once due to his own hands; his own sword. He would not let anyone harm A-Qing, as well. “A-Qing, we shall go eat. And find a place to stay.”

A-Qing grinned, “Okay! As long as I don’t have to share a room with you two!”

Xiao Xingchen looked flustered and Song Lan, for this moment, was grateful of not being able to talk. He did not know what he was going to say back.

“That is fine, A-Qing.” Xiao Xingchen replied.

So, the three kept walking for another few minutes until they arrived at a soup shop. A-Qing drank multiple bowls of soup as Song Lan’s gaze warmed to the sight of Xiao Xingchen sipping seasoned broth. They talked little and soon they were up again, late into the night, in search for an inn.

***

It was pouring rain when the two male cultivators and the young girl entered the inn. People inside fled from the entrance while others murmured disgusted. A woman, with bracelets and jingly bells attached, came running towards them. His sword, Shuanghua shuddered towards her, on Xiao Xingchen’s shoulder. Both cultivators, instantly became wary.

The lady spoke out of breath, “Welcome to the Silent Whisper Inn!” She looked the three, all over. “Ah, are you lost?”

Xiao Xingchen smiled, his lips soft against his slightly hollow cheeks. “No, fortunately. May we stay the night?” Rain drops from his smooth skin.

The woman gazed for too long before answering, “Oh, sorry.” Her eyelashes fluttered while she carelessly loosened the purple shawl around her shoulders. The woman leaned forward over the countertop, her breasts desirably set on display. She looked around and seemed just to have noticed the little girl in green outerwear watching her, suspiciously.

A-Qing’s lips twisted. She thought to herself, _How dumb is she? Can’t she see that Daozhang is blind?! What is she revealing herself for? _

The woman smiled softly but then her gaze landed on Song Zichen. “The only room left…is mine.”

A-Qing thought again, _This woman is horrible. Here, I thought she was dumbly trying to take Daozhang and all along she was just for Song Zichen. _

From beside Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan looked away. Xiao Xingchen seemed to have felt the tension pull tight in the room, and cut in. “Is there no other option? The night is very cold and wet outside. It would be a bother to have come here for nothing.”

The woman huffed. “Okay, there is a small room, but it only has one bed and a chair. We don’t really use it for customers, to protect our high reputation.”

A-Qing whispered under her breath, “What high reputation?”

Yet, Xiao Xingchen nodded, “We’ll take it for tonight.”

The lady pierced her lips and nonetheless moved them up a set of stairs to a dusty, moist room. Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing entered, just as the woman grabbed Song Lan’s wrist and dragged him out, closing the door, leaving them alone in the empty hallway.

Xiao Xingchen’s voice could be heard as well as his struggle to open the door. “Lan!”

Song Lan was obviously mute, but his eyes spoke of the discomfort and anger he felt. The woman paid no attention. She pulled on his collar and her bracelets jingled as she wrung her hands around his hair. Then her palm moved to his chest and Song Lan grabbed hold of her arms and pushed her away. He shook his head: telling her to stop.

The woman persisted, “I like you. Just let me kiss you.” Her skin was too hot, too sticky, and covered with white powder and red makeup. Song Lan’s eyes widened as he desperately tried not to make any drastic movement so that she wouldn’t see the black veins on his neck pulsing. He shook his head again and swiftly moved to the door of their room. The woman was fierce, as she slammed him against the door and kissed him forcefully on the mouth. Song Lan pushed her off him and the knob of the door twisted, pulling back both the woman and Song Lan into the room.

Xiao Xingchen moved in front of A-Qing; alarmed. “Song Zichen!”

A-Qing shouted, “Get off him, you snake!”

The woman turned profusely red but smirked replying to Xiao Xingchen, “He’s mine, now.” And bit into Song Lan’s shoulder, yellow boned teeth in pale flesh. Song Lan’s veins rose higher and looked like strokes of lighting. This woman was not human. She began to turn green and pale, chewing on the flesh. If Song Lan was still living, this bite would have killed him minutes ago.

Xiao Xingchen rose his sword, Shuanghua. With a single flick of his wrist and a movement of his hand, her head was lolling on the stained carpet, staining it now a deeper reddish brown. A-Qing closed her eyes.

Song Lan stood and cleared away the body quickly. A-Qing looked shaken, “What was she?”

Xiao Xingchen, “I do not know.” No one said anything more.

Song Lan came back, relieved. The woman, the thing, was gone. The one he loved was safe, the girl who united them all was already fast asleep, whispering, “I can’t believe I have to share a room with you two…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it so far! (This is a slow burn, btw) ❤


	3. Tracing Characters

The inn was dark with red painted wooden walls, with a probably once purple carpet for the floor, which was now stained an almost brown. The bed was already taken by A-Qing.

Xiao Xingchen went up to Song Lan who slid the inn’s window open, ready to leap up on the roof. “Song Lan,” Xiao Xingchen whispered. 

Song Zichen turned and waited for the other to continue.

“Why did you bring me back?” Xiao Xingchen felt the wind blow against his cheek. His hands began to shake, “Song Zichen, you should have left me dead. A-Qing and you could have been fine, but people will talk more with me here.”

Song Lan gently reached for Xiao Xingchen’s arm. He wrote, _‘I heard your voice before I saw Xue Yang.’ _Song Lan paused for Xiao Xingchen to understand. _‘…and I should have come to you. I’m not parting ways again.’ _

Xiao Xingchen’s bandage, around his eyes, was loose and did not hold tight enough when bloody tears stained the white fabric. He did not try to adjust the bandage. “You protected A-Qing. You fought Xue Yang.”

Song Lan slowly wrote, _‘I was a coward to face you.’ _

Xiao Xingchen, “That’s not-”

Song Lan persisted to write, _‘I should have saved you then, Xingchen.’ _

“…”

The two cultivators were feared by some while praised by others, yet with each other it was just the raw fact that one could not see, and one could not speak. Just two people, blind to each other’s emotions.

_‘I could have said I loved you sooner.” _Song Lan quickly wrote. Too quick, he believed, for his friend to understand. He looked at Xiao Xingchen and leaned in, until his lips were close to the other cultivator’s. It was quiet and still for a while until Song Lan swiftly twisted away and flipped himself up on the roof; torn apart from within.

Meanwhile, Xiao Xingchen felt the window’s glass, closing it shut. He replaced the bandage covering his eyes and slowly laid himself on a chair, whispering out into the night, “Song Lan.”


	4. Missing From the Roof

The sun was burning brighter than the Wen Sect at war. A-Qing was already up and scraping marks on the carpet with her bamboo stick; whining and saying “Daozhang! Daozhang! Wake up! I’m hungry!” She stood up and shook the tired cultivator.

A-Qing paused. She had forgotten what Daozhang looked like. Her sight somehow came back when she did. As Xiao Xingchen’s did not. A-Qing thought it was unfair for him to not be able to see, as the outcome. She repeatedly bashed anyone on the head if they made fun of Daozhang. “I’m hungry! I want a steamed bun, or some fruit. Anything!”

Xiao Xingchen was still sleeping, his breath slow and steady. His mouth was closed and didn’t look clenched but calm. For the first time, he had no worries on his features and A-Qing felt her cheeks flare up an angry red. 

_It’s unfair! _She thought. A-Qing still hungry went to find Song Zichen. He wasn’t in the room, but the window did look recently opened. She climbed out and bravely moved up to the roof.

“Song Zichen! Zichen!” She called out and even looked below to the ground and around the vast view she had before her. It was early in the morning; the market was empty and looked smaller with no one and everything packed away. Song Zichen was not there, either. A-Qing felt uncomfortable and went back down to see Daozhang.

Xiao Xingchen was awake when she came in. “A-Qing? It is early, why are you up?”

A-Qing huffed, “You’re awake! I want breakfast! I’m hungry! And I couldn’t find Song Zichen while you were sleeping to give me food. And I really want a steamed bun…or an apple…” She went on like that for a bit, while Xiao Xingchen’s features became more confused as he listened.

“You mean Song Lan wasn’t on the roof?” Xiao Xingchen asked.

“No!” A-Qing whisper-yelled. She was aware that others may be sleeping and did not want another creature like the woman yesterday to come. “Are you listening? We have to go get food!”

“Song Lan wouldn’t leave without telling us. Something is not right.” Xiao Xingchen stood up from the chair he slept on and put his sword around his back and outer robes on.

“Daozhang? Is Song Zichen alright?” She murmured, following Xiao Xingchen as he checked the room for any note or sign from Song Lan.

“I do not know, but it’s probably not good. I’ve known him for a long time, and not once did he leave without telling me so.” Xiao Xingchen stilled, and A-Qing waited for him to do something. But all he did was stand.

A-Qing grabbed on to Daozhang’s hand and shook it, “Daozhang! What are you thinking about?”

Xiao Xingchen kneeled down to her and turned in the direction of her voice. “A-Qing, I need you to stay here. Do not move from this room. Blockade the door, so no other monster can barge in like the woman. And close the window tight shut, okay?”

A-Qing then became scared. “Daozhang? What’s wrong?”

The cultivator paused when moving out behind the door, “Not sure. I need to check something. Stay safe, A-Qing.” He closed the door and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it's interesting so far!


	5. The Return

Song Lan had told Xiao Xingchen that Xue Yang was killed. He remembered the pride that he had felt when he heard it was Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji who did. He believed Song Lan’s every word when he explained what had happened in Yi City, yet, could it be that Xue Yang was brought back too? Maybe by accident? Or on purpose, to use Xue Yang for a weapon or revenge?

When Xiao Xingchen was in the inn, he felt the presence of something cold and corrupted. It wasn’t like the woman that bit Song Lan’s shoulder, but worse. The presence festered, and it reminded Xiao Xingchen of all those years with Xue Yang. All those moments he laughed, went into the market, drank warm Lean Pork broth. All the other memories, when he killed villagers injured by Xue Yang, when he realised from A-Qing that the person they’ve been living with was Xue Yang, which led him finding out that he killed his closest friend, Song Lan. It all led back to Xue Yang, and now Xue Yang has come back to him.

It was still early, but Xiao Xingchen began rushing through the alleyways and streets, trying to use every bit of spiritual energy to find Song Lan. He yelled out his name, asked many villagers who were setting up the stalls, and even tried to use Shuanghua to sense Song Lan. No one knew anything. No one answered back when he called out. His sword, sitting still on his back, didn’t give out any sign of his friend.

***

A-Qing stayed inside the inn worried. She had barricaded the door and closed the curtains from the window. She sat with one candle in her hand alight, and the sheets from the bed wrapped around her. “Stupid, Daozhang, leaving me here alone.” A-Qing murmured to herself. “What if a corpse comes and tries to eat me? What would I do? Bash it on the head with a stick?”

The fact that nothing disturbed the silence, was why A-Qing was so careful and slightly scared inside. She had been used to the little sounds in the shack with coffins where Xue Yang whistled creepily in the night, and Xiao Xingchen’s breathing was the only thing keeping her fighting. The inn she was in, was not like that. It suddenly felt cold and dusty. As if, the earth and all its soil came out beneath the ground and coated the stained carpet and tacky walls with its dirty smell.

“Stupid Daozhang,” A-Qing said again. Then there was a reply.

“Stupid? Is that the best you can do? I think he suits much worse than that, knowing what he has done.”

A-Qing’s breath and cry blew out the light from the candle. She ran to window and opened the curtains for light. The sun was welcomed into the room and revealed, right in the middle of the inn’s room, was Xue Yang.

He stood there grinning, with his sharp teeth and sharp eyes. “A-Qing.”

“Don’t say my name.” A-Qing said. She pushed her back against the window, her fingers at the latch ready to lift it open if Xue Yang pounces.

Xue Yang kept grinning, “I thought you wanted me to call you that! Well, seems like a long time has passed since our last proper talk in Yi City. And you’re not blind.” His body was lanky, and his face seemed shallow, and pale. Xue Yang looked transparent and he wasn’t even properly standing on the floorboards, as his feet weren’t putting any pressure on the squeaky wooden floor. “I guess you can see what I am now.”

“You’re dead.” A-Qing replied. “You can’t hurt me. You can’t do anything!”

Xue Yang smirked, “You’ve always been confident, A-Qing. But, always right? I don’t believe so.” He gripped the bed and scraped a pointy splinter of wood with his nails. “Bet if I can get this in your eye?”

A-Qing yelled out, “Get away! You’re dead! You’re just an illusion!”

Xue Yang shook his head, “Oh, A-Qing. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to give you a message.”

The window was creaked open already and the wind blew warm air inside. “What is it?” A-Qing asked.

Xue Yang picked under his nails casually with the splinter. “That I’ve got Song Zichen, and if Xiao Xingchen doesn’t come and try to get him by midnight tonight, then by tomorrow, there will be no Song Lan to come for.”

A-Qing gulped. “No, Song Lan is strong. He wouldn’t get easily captured by you.”

Xue Yang began to fade. “Who said Song Lan didn’t come willingly?”

The warm air had already filled the inn’s room and Xue Yang’s presence dissipated as if he was never there.


	6. A Bloody Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may get a bit gruesome as there is stabbing, blood, etc...

Meanwhile, Xiao Xingchen was rummaging through rumours and conversations of anything about last night. Superstitions, small noises, strange coincidences. Right now, a young boy was really excited to finally talk about what he heard last night, to someone who’s actually interested. The boy seemed even more eager as the man was dressed in white robes, just like the hero he idolized, Xiao Xingchen. Yet, the boy did not think for a second, that the man he was talking to really was his hero himself.

Xiao Xingchen bent down and faced the little boy. “You thought you heard an animal?”

“No! It was a Fierce Corpse! I know it was, I do!” The boy’s face was red with frustration. Xiao Xingchen didn’t quite seem certain that a little boy’s nightly horrors, were a good lead.

“How would you know what a Fierce Corpse sounds like?” Daozhang asked.

The boy seemed flustered. “I’ve heard stories! Of-of…how the hero, Xiao Xingchen fought Fierce Corpses, and froze them into ice with his sword! The stories say that the corpses would groan and make weird noises as if their tongues were cut off!”

Xiao Xingchen tensed, “Where did you hear those stories?”

“Well, a few months ago…there was a man dressed in a black hanfu who walked past every village and asked almost every stall keeper if they knew someone who could revive souls. And you know how he talked?! By writing gibberish on everyone’s hand! Everyone believed that he was a joke!” The little boy laughed then but stopped when he saw bloody tears fall down the man’s face. “Ah! Your eyes, sir! Your eyes! They’re…”

Xiao Xingchen had his fist clenched angrily and wiped away the blood swiftly. “Please continue. I’m sorry if that frightened you.”

The boy puffed his chest. “Me, scared? Hmph. As if! But you want me to continue?”

“Yes,” Daozhang nodded.

“Well, in the end the black robed man stopped walking around. He just sat on the ground in the alleyway, not eating, or asking, or doing anything that he had done for weeks! My mama said, that it was stranger when he did nothing than when he was doing everything.” The boy paused, as the man in front of him kept a calm face. “I don’t remember much of how he looked, but I do remember that he was strong. But, at one point, the strong guy began to write down stories in the dirt for other kids. I wanted to go, but mama said no. Yet, I would go as close as I could and try to read what he wrote. It was a long time ago, but I remember him writing about walking monsters. Fierce Corpses! And what sound they would make and how not to confuse them with villagers. People would tease how he’s just describing himself.” The boy giggled, “If you saw him, you would too! But _you _can’t, ‘cause your blind!”

Xiao Xingchen stood up quickly; his robes fluttered. “That’s enough.” His words sounded stiff.

The boy’s eyes widened. “What did I do?! Was it about the eyes or the strong man?”

The white robed cultivator ignored, “So you heard the fierce corpse where?”

“Just outside the village, where I live. Edge of town.” The young kid ran off.

Xiao Xingchen looked at the direction where he knew the edge of town was directed. Blood still crept at the seams of his hollow eyes. Oh, how he wished he could see right now.

***

A-Qing did not move from the inn. Xue Yang was dead. He was gone. She was there till the end. Xiao Xingchen said she should not go out and she only trusted him right now.

A-Qing simply sat in the room with a relit candle, still shivering and cursing everything and everyone.

***

By nightfall, it was raining quite heavily. Puddles rippled with raindrops and the river on one side of the village was swollen with water. The soil was dark and moist. Already, wet enough to be called mud. When the army of fierce corpses stepped into it with bare, rotten feet it made a _squelch_ing sound.

Xue Yang grinned with pointy teeth. His transparency wasn’t obvious unless you were right into his face. Like Song Lan was. “Song Zichen! You haven’t aged a bit!” Xue Yang ran a dirty nail across Song Lan’s lips. “Xingchen, made a fine corpse out of you.”

“…” Song Lan was pulled in different directions at once, by tight chains and leather ropes which were held back by a few fierce corpses. His hands, legs and neck were strangled and were bruising on Song Zichen’s skin. As he opened his mouth, it let out a groan instead of words.

“Oh, I forgot! I cut your tongue! Easy to forget, when you’ve cut so many tongues in a lifetime.” Xue Yang’s teeth pierced his bright red lips.

A white robed figure came from behind, calling out. “Xue Yang!”

Xue Yang turned and almost wanted to hug Daozhang. “Xingchen! Xingchen! How long has it been since I’ve been with you?”

Xiao Xingchen’s blood went down from his eyes, cutting though his cheek. “Not long enough. You’re dead, Xue Yang.”

Song Lan stopped struggling and looked at Xue Yang closely. He looked at Xiao Xingchen’s stained bandage and sagged against the chains. If Xue Yang really was dead, he had no point in fighting. Xue Yang then frustrated, turned to Song Lan.

“Do you really believe Xiao Xingchen so much? If I was dead would I be able to chain you like this? Would I be able to control these corpses? Would I be able to do this?” Xue Yang grabbed a dagger from underneath his outerwear and stabbed it in Song Lan’s stomach. He didn’t make a sound as the blade made dark liquid drip into the soil. “What am I expecting? You can’t even say anything! Ha!”

“Song Lan! Lan!” Xiao Xingchen raised Shanghua slowly and moved closer to Xue Yang. “Don’t come near him again, Xue Yang.”

Xue Yang crossed his arms; grinning. “Why? What happened to those four years together, Xingchen? Don’t you remember anything good when you were with me? When have you and Song Zichen laughed together?”

Xiao Xingchen’s hair was against the wind as his arm pulled out his sword from behind him. With a swift command, Shanghua sliced through the necks of all corpses except one. Song Lan’s chains loosened as the corpses began to drop rapidly, spirting green ooze. Once all the corpses dropped, Song Lan carefully tugged out of the chains, and looked at Shanghua who went back to Xiao Xingchen’s side. Xue Yang’s jaw was tight as he grinded his teeth against each other. “Xingchen! How can you prove that I am dead? You can kill those fierce corpses, but can you kill me?”

The white robed cultivator stood his ground, only focusing on Song Lan’s movement. He couldn’t see him. He couldn’t see his friend bleed on the ground. Of course, Song Lan wouldn’t feel pain, but he could still die once again. Xingchen moved closer to Xue Yang, “Because Song Lan told me that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji defeated you.”

“Ha! The trust you two have in each other. Even though it’s all your fault that Song Lan’s dead, Xingchen. Even though it’s all-,” Xue Yang couldn’t say anything more. Xiao Xingchen closed the Soul Trapping Bag and put it away. Xue Yang’s soul impression was gone.

Xiao Xingchen ran to Song Lan’s side. Placing his hand on Song Lan’s stomach, the familiar wet feeling and stench of old blood wafted. “I’m sorry, Song Lan. I’m sorry.”

Song Lan’s finger gently moved across his friend’s arm, _‘We cannot keep saying sorry to each other.’ _The characters almost felt hot against Xingchen’s skin. He nodded in reply and lifted his cultivation partner easily with his strength.


	7. A Snappy Healer and A Still Hungry A-Qing

It was a quite a sight for the villagers who now filled the market. It was even a more of a sight for the healer who snapped at Xiao Xingchen for carrying the black robed cultivator so horribly.

“What on earth are you thinking, you blind man! Carrying him like some sort of bride! No, not even that! Carrying him as if he’s dead!” She ordered Xiao Xingchen to move Song Lan on the bed.

The two cultivators had ended up in a healer’s room, in the market. Xiao Xingchen had no healing equipment except for his bandages for his eyes which would not do any good. There was a risk with asking for help from the healer. She could easily tell that Song Lan is a fierce corpse and Xingchen did not want to think about her declining to help because of it.

“Wait…” The healer spoke up.

“What? Is he going to be okay?” Xiao Xingchen kneeled beside his friend. He knew Song Lan felt no pain, but even now he could feel the fear from Song Lan. He whispered, “Song Lan, what is wrong?” Before Song Lan could move a finger, she pushed Xingchen out of the way.

“He’s a fierce corpse! What are you thinking?! Worrying over his state so much? Have you seen the Ghost General?! He’s been in much worse, and from what I’ve heard from the Jiang Clan, their clan leader is still hunting him down!” The healer kept blabbering. _She knows so much, _Xingchen thought, _and she’s not even scared about Song Lan being a fierce corpse. _

The healer continued, “Look, look! I’m gonna strap him tight and he won’t leak a drop of old blood again. But, move out. I want no interruptions from all your worries. It stresses me out!”

Xiao Xingchen lightly held onto Song Lan’s hand and moved out of the healer’s room. He went out on the market’s streets and towards the inn. Being blind for so long, he had learned to remember smells, textures, noises to find his way around and back.

When he returned to the inn, he went up to the room and gently knocked on the inn’s door. “A-Qing, it’s me.”

After multiple loud wooden thuds_,_ a click of a lock, and creak of the door; A-Qing leaped into Xiao Xingchen’s arms. “Daozhang! Xue Yang was here! He’s become so creepy! I blocked all the entrances except for the window, just like you told me so!” She paused, breathing and shedding tears which crawled down her cheeks. “Is he gone, Daozhang? Is he dead?”

Xiao Xingchen wiped them away with his hand and kneeled down next to A-Qing. “He was already dead, A-Qing. But yes, he’s gone forever now. You’re safe.”

“I know! But I still love him like a dad, you know!” A-Qing cried.

Xiao Xingchen paused. “What?”

“Song Lan was the only one who actually believed the guy we were with for four years was evil!” A-Qing said.

“Wait, you’re talking about Song Lan?” Xiao Xingchen exclaimed.

A-Qing cried harder, “Yes, who else would I be talking about? I don’t care about Xue Yang!”

Xiao Xingchen began to laugh, “A-Qing, A-Qing! Stop crying, Song Lan is fine. He’s with a healer. He got slightly hurt, that’s all. He’s already dead, but not gone forever! I thought you were talking about Xue Yang.”

The little girl sniffed, “So…”

“He’s alive.” Xiao Xingchen whispered, and it felt like a relief for him to say it too.

“I’m so happy, Daozhang!” Then a rumble came from her stomach. A-Qing’s face went back to her annoyed expression. “I’m still hungry, Daozhang! I want some steamed buns! Or some soup! Something big and warm!”

Xiao Xingchen nodded, laughing again. “Okay, A-Qing. Here’s some money. Go and get some food and come back here. Don’t get lost or into any trouble. I don’t want to apologise to any more villagers about how you stole some money.”

“Okay, okay, Daozhang.” A-Qing cheerfully leaped up and went raced down the stairs; always so quick and light-footed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's finally some joy on beautiful A-Qing's face!


	8. Back to New; Back from Old

The healer was at the point that she was shouting curses at Song Lan. “What do you mean you don’t like any contact?! I’m a healer. Do you think I can fix you, without touching you?”

Song Lan made an unworldly noise as he tried to talk. He was more frustrated with himself and his tongue-less mouth, than ever.

“Oh, you can’t speak now, huh? You fierce corpses make no sense, some days. One day you want flesh, the next you make friends with other cultivators!” The healer was old, and her voice croaked, scraping out of her throat. “Now look, I can get your tongue back easily! But I can’t stitch that rip in your stomach back up if you don’t let me touch you!”

There was silence and Song Lan got weak in the knees. He pointed to his mouth and shook his head.

“What do you mean that I can’t fix your damn tongue?! My spiritual powers are strong enough, thank you very much! Baoshan Sanren didn’t make a healer for a friend for no reason!”

There was even longer silence now, as the black robed cultivator finally fell to his knees. This woman did not cease to surprise. Song Lan looked curiously back at her.

The healer huffed, “Stop looking at me like that! I’m not going to tell you where she lives, because I don’t know! But she’s come around here a few times and bringing injured people all the time. Still asking me to help others, even when she can do it herself.” The healer cracked her knuckles and stretched. She spoke of the Immortal as if annoyed at her, but there was a fondness in her expression.

Song Lan nodded and looked down. He slowly stood up once and moved himself back on the bed. Beforehand, he had easily rushed back and forth from one side of the room to the other. Trying to avoid the healer’s grimy fingers on his skin. He felt as if everything was closing in and when he tried to breathe, it made no relief in his chest.

The healer huffed again. “Okay, let me take a look at the tongue.” Without a warning, she grabbed his jaw and looked in his mouth. Wiry white hair and beady eyes pressed right into Song Zichen’s face. He stiffened and tried his best not to move away and out of that healer’s room in search of his cultivation partner.

Where was he now? Why couldn’t he be beside him?

“Well, well. Whoever cut your tongue off, did a horrible job. What was this person thinking? It looks like someone just put a sword in your mouth and sliced everything without care!” The healer put her hands on her hips and winked. “That’s okay. Let me just get you to swallow some melted moss and I’ll make your tongue good as new!”

The black robed cultivator’s heart would have beat rapidly right now. He willed himself not to move a single muscle when the healer went back to him and grinned manically. “Now,” She began holding a small bowl of chunky melted moss. “Drink it but don’t swallow. It has to stay in your mouth, so I can shape it into a tongue, got it?”

Song Lan nodded, quickly.

“You cultivators act ready for everything, but as soon as _one thing _happens you run around like headless chickens, puking your energy out on useless things.” The old healer said, handing Song Lan the bowl. “Drink, don’t swallow.”

With a slow hand movement, Song Lan did so. It was disgusting and Song Lan, even though he was a corpse, thought that he would rather spit it out than swallow anything like it. A moment passed with the moss in his mouth when the healer placed two fingers to her temple, with one hand, and two other fingers at Song Lan’s.

He tensed and when something began to burn in his mouth his hands scrunched up the bed’s fabric. The healer closed her eyes and concentrated. You could hear the trees outside bristle against the wood of the hut. Leaves raking against its walls.

The healer then took in a huge breath, blinking a few times and finally sighed. “Dear me. I don’t get paid enough for this. You okay?”

Song Lan nodded. Then froze, opening his mouth and closing it again, like a fish. It didn’t hurt, it didn’t burn. It was back to it’s normal nothing-ness sensation. He closed his eyes. Then a beat later there was a whisper, “Tha…you…”

“Huh?! Don’t tell me I did this wrong! Speak up!” The healer said. She seemed teasing and smiled when Song Lan spoke up.

“Thank you, healer.” Song Lan spoke and bowed again. His voice sounded so new to him. So, naturally smooth and deep, compared to his groans and croaks of corpse speech. “Thank you.”

“You’re damn welcome. Next time, get the person to cut your tongue better.” The old lady looked down at his stomach. “You want me to fix that too, now? Or should I let the young man you were with before fix you up?”

Song Lan stood up and held his hand to his stomach. The blood had dried around it; nothing hurt like usual. “That would be better. Yet, I do not think my wound is that serious. I have been worse.”

The woman rolled her eyes, “Of course, you cultivators have. Now, get up. I need to clean this place up for other people to heal. Shoo, shoo!”

Song Lan bowed and thanked the woman repeatedly. In return, the lady pushed him out with medical supplies in his arms and slammed the door, “Ask your lover to fix you up!”

Villagers surrounding Song Lan smirked or looked away embarrassed, yet no one was as flustered as Song Lan himself.


	9. Laughter Better than a Voice

The black robed cultivator was on the other side of the door’s inn now. He knocked on the door and Xiao Xingchen opened it smiling. Knowing who it was instantly, sighed saying, “Song Lan!” Then he paused and carefully placed his hand down at his partner’s stomach. “Why didn’t she heal you? Was it because of you being a fierce corpse?” Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan moved inside, closing the door.

Song Lan shook his head as he laid out the medical supplies on a small table. “No, she wanted you to fix me instead.” He looked at Xiao Xingchen and smiled slightly.

“Did you not let her-,” Xingchen paused and behind the bandages red flooded white. “Lan, you-you can speak. H-How? Did she…Lan…”

Song Lan stood and nodded. “She knew Baoshan Sanren. And, she knew how to fix my tongue.” Then Song Lan looked away. “The healer also thought we were lovers…” For the first time, since they entered the inn, Song Lan realised that they were alone. He felt his body heat up and his mouth become dry. Song Zichen waited for Xiao Xingchen to laugh but it did not come.

Instead, “Song Lan, sit down on the bed. I’ve got to check your stomach.” Song Lan did so and looked at his friend. Blood fell again, like tears, from his white bandage.

“We should ask her to try to heal your eyes.” Song Lan spoke. 

Xiao Xingchen nodded, “Yes. I also want to ask her how Master is doing.”

“Maybe she knows you.” Song Lan inquired.

“Unlikely! She didn’t even give me a second glance! Unless, that’s how she treats everyone she knows.” Xingchen laughed with relief and it felt greater to hear it, for Song Lan, than to hear his own voice. The other cultivator paused, “Song Lan, I need you to take off some layers, for me to clean the wound.” Xingchen even blind could look slightly embarrassed.

Song Lan paused and he swallowed to try to take away the dry feeling of his throat. “Okay.” He began to take off his outer robes and then as it still covered the wound, he took the top layers off too. His whole front was bare and exposed. The colour of his skin was slightly grey but still contained a slightly human complexion. Small scars and battle wounds were dealt with care and healed nicely, except for the quite obvious wound which was still oozing with blood. He felt nervous, and his fists were holding the sheets of the bed tightly.

“You can continue now, Xingchen.” Song Lan said softly.

Xiao Xingchen nodded as he moved his hands with the medicine to the wound. The ointment coated his fingers and were warm against Song Lan’s skin, as was the skin he touched. Both cultivators’ breaths were rugged and sharp. Xiao Xingchen moved closer to Song Lan. His hands were still on top of the wound, but the pressure on the wound had increased than the gentle caress he had before.

“Lan,” Xingchen said. “I-.”

Song Lan didn’t want to draw back when Xiao Xingchen neared closer. Instead his hand reached to Xingchen’s bandage and he slowly untied it, as well as his hair, to make it fall towards the ground. The white robed cultivator moved back for a moment but then both Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan had moved down on to the bed.

Neither knew what to say, but Song Lan filled the silence instead by slowly placing his lips on the other’s. Xingchen kissed back and slowly his hand ran across Song Lan’s chest, while the other took off his outer robes. Then, Song Lan drew back, taking a breath.

“Xingchen, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…I should have…I couldn’t…” The bare-chested cultivator didn’t know what to say. Xiao Xingchen looked beautiful right now, with his hair down, and skin full of colour and his eyes, even though hollow, had a calm and happy expression. Nothing made Song Lan disgusted; nothing made him want to go away. All he wanted to do was stay.

Xiao Xingchen shook his head, “Do not apologise. You were the one who said we should stop. I’m only going to say Thank You.”

“Why?” Song Lan moved his fingers across his partner’s cheek, slowly. Lingering for little moments, on Xingchen’s cheek and jaw. Then down, his neck and collar bone. Tracing across his shoulder and reaching his head up to kiss it along it too.

Xingchen let out a shaky breath, “Because I’ve wanted this for so long. I did not want to lose you, and yet I did.”

“This does not look as though you have lost me, Daozhang.” Song Lan said.

Xiao Xingchen laughed and kissed Song Lan’s neck and then deeply on the lips. “Was that an attempt at a joke, Song Zichen?”

Song Lan replied seriously, “No…”

That made Xiao Xingchen laugh harder, then after a moment he paused and smiled down at his partner’s face. “I fight alongside you, Song Lan. I will continue to do so, as well as laugh, and live. But today, I can finally say that I have loved you too.”

A minute and another went by. Xingchen smiled, “Daozhang? Are you alright?”

Song Lan froze. He did not know. “I was not expecting…I mean…I’ve loved you too. For so long. Yet, I never thought that it would be the same for you.” Song Lan felt he no longer cared if they were going to get through tomorrow. If him being alive as Fierce Corpse would end today. He carefully skimmed his hand around Xingchen’s neck and chest, kissing him firmly, with a loss of breath and desperation.

Both cultivators kissed deep. Breathless and desperate. Most of Xingchen’s robes had come off as well Lan’s, yet neither noticed that, as they moved together. Just as they did when fighting, when laughing and, forever now; living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this is the official ending of this fanfiction! Next chapter is a small extra of A-Qing and her dads, as well as an Author's Note. Hope you enjoyed reading it and thank you! I wouldn't have ever written this fanfiction without Songxiao fans to write it for.


	10. Extra: Both Daozhangs!

Song Lan was draped around Xiao Xingchen on the bed. They slept soundly under the covers as the day became dark and slightly warm.

The door slammed shut.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT I HAVE TO SHARE A ROOM WITH YOU TWO!!!” A-Qing’s face was red. Her arms were strained as she held bags of steamed buns and fresh apples. She dropped the bags on the floor. “Daozhang! Daozhang! Both Daozhangs! Wake up! We still have to go and make the sect you want to build!!!”

Xingchen yawned and turned closer to Song Lan. A-Qing’s face became even darker as her eyes widened.

_What were both Daozhangs doing_? She froze from turning out of the room. Slowly, she tiptoed to the other side of the bed where the sun was still shining against her dads.

A-Qing smiled.

_Her dads. _The thought made her smile.

***

Author’s Note:

Hey! This is the end of my Songxiao fanfiction.

I wanted to do one for so long and I am really inexperienced when writing romance, as I normally write angst. But this was for fun, and to satisfy myself because the Yi City Arc left me a mess and deprived of Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen scenes.

I edit all my work and read through it as much as I can to make sure everything makes sense and clicks. If you have an issue with anything that I’ve written, please tell me!

Otherwise, I love MDZS with all my heart. I don’t go by a single day without mentioning at least one thing from the novel or donghua. And I know, I’m not the only fan like that so this is my gift to the fandom. A thank you to all that MDZS has given me.

So, this is my short author’s note. Feedback is what I love the most, so thank you, for reading.

I love you all, 

Millennium_Lotus


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